Gear to Lighten your Load on a Budget! - Part 3

Description

** Stuff/Gear I Mention in this Video **

UL Budget Gear Part 1 - https://youtu.be/leMyVAsgFjU

UL Budget Gear Part 2 - https://youtu.be/5ZVZ_QplWE0

OR Helium ii - http://amzn.to/2xPUJAR

4uCycling Rain Jacket - http://amzn.to/2zqZJAp

Sea to Summit Aeros UL - http://amzn.to/2zeAeBh

Trekology UL Pillow - http://amzn.to/2z9Plds

Black Diamond Spot - http://amzn.to/2xRH1xx

CREE Headlamp - http://amzn.to/2ioZsmw

Z-Lite Butt Pad - http://amzn.to/2zttYXe

Porfiya XPE Butt Pad - http://amzn.to/2xQzlLL

AZT Section Gear List - https://darwinonthetrail.com/2017/09/22/darwins-2017-azt-section-hike/

AT Gear List - https://darwinonthetrail.com/2016/05/03/darwins-2016-at-gear-list/

*** WAYS TO SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL ***

Limited Edition "Hike On" T-Shirt!!! - https://www.bonfire.com/hike-on/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darwinonthetrail

(Help Support my 2018 PCT Thru with a pledge as low as a $1/month)

Visit our Etsy Shop! - https://www.etsy.com/shop/TravelandTrail

*** Gear Used to Shoot this Video! ***

- Camera -

Canon EOS 77D - http://amzn.to/2zf5OQ9

- Lense -

Canon EF 24mm IS USM - http://amzn.to/2zeJuWU

- Sound -

TakStar Shotgun Mic - http://amzn.to/2kMsAnM

- TriPod -

Targus 360 Trigger Tripod - http://amzn.to/2kMsU5Y

------Intro & Animation By: BlackStrap Media------

https://blackstrapmedia.com

------- Music By: Mike Boren --------

DISCLAIMER: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps support the channel and allows us to continue to make videos like this. Thank you for the support!

Contact information:

Website: www.darwinonthetrail.com

Instagram: Darwin_Onthetrail

facebook: www.facebook.com/darwinonthetrail

Tags: Appalachian Trail,AT,Thru-Hike,UL Backpacking Gear,Budget Gear,UL Hiking,Hiker Trash,Backpacking,Hiking,UL Gear,Camping,Adventure,Pacific Crest Trail,PCT,PCT Thru Hike,CDT,AZT,Arizona Trail,UL Gear on a Budget,OR Helium ii,Aeros UL Pillow,Thru Hiking,UL Backpacking

Video Transcription

hey guys it's Darwin here yet again with more gear to lighten your load without breaking the bank so if you're not familiar with this series this is part 3 of a series that I've been doing for a while or I wanted to show you guys the ultralight gear that I carry and my backpacking kit and then give you a few suggestions of some things that you can get on a budget to help lighten that load I try to scour things like Amazon and eBay to find gear that's not too shabby for someone just starting out so you're not putting together too bulky of a kit for your first time so first up let's talk about rain jackets now the rain jacket that I've been using for quite some time is the Outdoor Research helium now I've had two different iterations of the jacket the first one that I had that I carried on the 80 in 2015-2016 had on the Arizona Trail it's been on the continent of I'd trail it's pretty much been everywhere with me was the helium HD now the helium HD is the one that has the pit zips it has pockets in it it's a little bit heavier used it for years and it was a great jacket but eventually it failed on me the seams started ripping out so I got a replacement which is the Outdoor Research helium 2 jacket now the big difference between this and the HD is going to be this guy does not have pit vents it has no hand pockets and it's a lot lighter so some of the great features of this jacket are it has a really nice hood it is taped and sealed from the inside and you can fold it up and store it in its own little pocket now a medium in the helium 2 comes in at 6.1 ounces and comes with a pretty hefty price tag between 150 and 170 dollars depending on where you get it now I absolutely love this jacket and I would suggest it for anyone especially because I put so many miles on one however that expensive of a jacket is not going to be for everyone so looking around on Amazon I actually found a pretty good alternative to this which would be this guy this is the for you cycling rain jacket now it is advertised as a cycling jacket but it has a lot of the same attributes as the Outdoor Research Healing it has a nice hood it's completely seam sealed from the inside it folds up in its own pocket and it only weighs 6.2 ounces so just 6.2 ounces for this guy so it's point 1 ounces

heavier than the helium and the best part about it is if you are a newbie and you're getting in the back packing this thing only cost $10 on Amazon so 10 bucks what's the catch well for starters it only comes in one color so if you don't like safety green it's probably not the jacket for you it only comes in one size for me it fits me pretty good but if you are a larger hiker it's probably not gonna work but if you're about six-one weigh about 168 pounds it wouldn't be a bad alternative now is it made of a cheaper material than the helium sure will it breathe as good as the helium probably not but my experience of having rain jackets on the trail whether it's the helium whether it was a marmot rain jacket that I used to own rain jackets never really breathe well and when you're hiking they end up feeling like a big sweaty trash bag anyways and I've yet to have a rain jacket that didn't eventually wet out in a hardcore downpour so if you're new into hiking and you're trying to drop that weight but still get a little bit of rain protection I think the for you cycling jacket would be awesome so next up is a piece of gear that for a long time I would never carry and I made fun of people for carrying it you guys have probably heard me talk about it in a previous video and now I'm a huge advocate for it and that is a backpacking pillow

so at first I thought these things were super silly I wouldn't use it but after I grabbed one just to do a little bit of research I found out I got so much better sleep on the trail now the pillow that I use is the sea2summit Eros ultralight pillow and I've been carrying it since 2016 on the 80 and every other trip that I've done even when I go super ultra light on my kit this is one luxury that I always bring with me the eros is one of the lightest backpacking pillows that are on the market only weighing in at two ounces but as you guessed it it comes with a hefty price tag between 40 and 50 dollars so forty to fifty dollars for something that most people think is kind of silly can be a little bit outrageous but I think it's totally worth if you're not willing to invest that much in this guy I found a really awesome alternative and that is the trek Allergy ultralight pillow now I found this guy over on Amazon and the reason I picked it up is because it looks so similar to the arrows you can see it base has the same shape except for this guy is actually bigger so if you got a big ol noggin like me this actually might be a better deal they both have a very similar valve and how you blow it up how you inflate it and deflate it they're covered with basically the same exact material that's a really nice soft surface the trichology comes in a ton of different colors it comes with a stuff sack if that's what you're into and for the larger size it only weighs 2.6 ounces so just point 6 ounces heavier than the arrows but you get a ton more surface area and here's the biggest benefit of it it only cost $15 on Amazon when I picked it up I was like 15 bucks versus 50 bucks it's probably not gonna be that good it's pon I'm gonna hold air it's gonna be tiny this thing has really surprised me so if you're wanting to improve your sleep on the trail and give a pillow a try but don't want to spend between 40 and 50 bucks the trichology is definitely an awesome piece of gear alright so next up is one that I actually got a request for from my last video and that is a headlamp now if you guys have been watching my videos lately you'll probably see that I actually switched off of the headlamp and went to a mini LED flashlight and if you haven't seen that yet I'll put a link to the video up here but when I do carry a headlamp I typically carry the Black Diamond spot now this is the headlamp that snuggles and I both carried on the entire 80 and it's been an awesome headlamp it takes three Triple A batteries it has a really nice stretchy headband it has two different brightness settings and a red light it's really adjustable where I can angle it wherever I want to on the trail it's a hundred and thirty lumens and it weighs in at 3.3 ounces and from using it for years I can tell you it is an awesome headlamp now lately they have upgraded the spot and the new one is gonna run you about forty dollars but cruising around on the Internet I actually found this guy which is the Cree Cree the Cree headlamp and this thing is basically a clone of my Black Diamond it looks almost identical so I decided to pick it up and give it a try now it essentially has all the same features that my spot did it has a nice stretchy headband it's super adjustable it takes three Triple A batteries to brightness settings has a red low but it's brighter than my spot coming in at 160 lumens it weighs two point eight ounces which is actually lighter than my spot and the best part is it's only ten dollars and like I said if you look at them again they're basically clones of each other so a headlamp that is brighter than my old one it's lighter than my old one and it's cheaper this is definitely a great piece of ultra light budget hiking gear all right next up is one that you guys probably expected and probably seen coming but it is my arse pad because YouTube is starting to be weird with what you can say in a video and whatnot we're gonna start calling it a butt pad so you guys know how much I love my butt pad and I use the therm-a-rest ZC now this is the same one that I've had for three years in every trail that I've hiked and been on and all the miles that I've hiked this is the same exact one that I always take with me now I won't go into my spiel about how much I love it why I love it and all the benefits that I get from one of these I'm sure you guys can find that throughout my other videos but I can't tell you it weighs two ounces and they're typically only fifteen dollars pretty much anywhere that you look now $15 is pretty cheap but if you're a hardcore cheapskate and you're like I'm not gonna pay $15 just to try out a butt pad there is another cheaper option which is the port via XPe cushion now it is definitely a lot smaller than my butt pad but it only weighs one ounce and there are only six dollars on Amazon now it doesn't have that thermal finish and it is a bit smaller so if you have a bigger hiking but it might not work for you but like I said it one ounce and only six books it you know what stop being a cheapskate just get the thermo rest pet it's $15 and you get a ton of benefit from it get one of these art I guess get the other one but this is an awesome thing to have in your pack barely weighs anything and it's good and cheap alright guys the last piece of ultralight gear that I have for you on a budget is my dove product so it's a product that you don't really have to spend any money on most of you have it laying around your house and that is a zip lock bag there are tons of different stuff sacks and dry sex on the market you can go crazy with those things made out of all these different types of materials just get a ziploc bag they don't weigh anything chances are you have them sitting around your house and they're basically free or you know you can at least buy a box of 50 of them for like three bucks so if you're wanting to lower the weight in your pack

start getting rid of some of those stuff sacks and start picking up a ziploc bag a good example is I used to carry a trail wallet on the trail it's what I carried on the 80 which is essentially a little bitty SIL nylon zipper pouch it's what I kept my credit card in my ID and some cash but now I just carry a little ziploc sandwich bag like I said I got them laying around anyways it's much lighter than that little silver Halon wallet it didn't cost me anything and when it wears out I can throw it away and get another one and if you got more crap than that use a gallon bag again come on people they're light they work whose own alright guys so hopefully all that gear will help you lower your base weight and get you into ultra light hiking without spending too much money up front if you have any ideas for some gear for me to check out for the next episode go ahead and leave it in the comment box below Kevin had a chance to go over and check me out on Instagram I've been posting a lot of new photos lately of some of the things that snuggles and I have going on throughout the week plus some pictures from some past hikes if you found any value in this video go ahead and hit that like button subscribe to my channel if you haven't already and as always guys thanks for watching [Music]

you